Toys “R” Us founder, Charles Lazarus, passed away Thursday at 94, the company confirmed in a statement. The news comes the same month the toy company announed it would close or sell all of its stores in the United States,

The once iconic retailer can trace its beginnings to 1948, when Lazarus opened a baby furniture store in Washington D.C. when he was just 25.

But as the company notes in a profile of its history, Lazarus quickly realized that what was drawing the most attention...